Chapter 19

The road was a smooth black river, the soft wheels floating so effortlessly along and so as the truck made its steady way along. The scenery took on an almost meditative quality, the light igniting the hues of each tree as Angela drove the truck. The shadows of the trees gave shade.

The older man had stopped breathing; it felt like hours had passed as the sunset and the sky darkened. Maybe she should not have killed the older man yet, and that can swerve off the road. Angela was confident those guys were dead.

She felt sleepy behind the steering wheel as she tried to keep her eyes open. After all, she had barely slept last night; with the thunderstorm and calamity which followed at sunrise, clouds started to thicken. What if she had passed the house? And she would be driving blindly into the middle of nowhere?

Angela decided to stop the truck on the side of the road. The dead body of the older man had stiffened. She had to get rid of the body and try to find a more comfortable car than driving this huge truck.

Angela had switched on the light and leaned over to the cubio, hoping to find a map. To her surprise, she had found a map and some cash; she had last eaten yesterday. Her stomach started to rumble, to luck the map showed that there was a close-by gas station

She needed to refuel anyway, and maybe those guys at the gas station could tell her where the house was. The only thing that bothered Angela was that she would have been walking into a trap if she had arrived at the house. After all, whoever was there was waiting for the older man.

Angela drove the extra kilometers to the gas station; arriving there, it was quiet. There was a small shop where she headed to get food and a drink.

"A young lady like you shouldn't be out here on your own." Angela looked at the guy, who looked like he was in his early thirties.

Angela knew commenting would give that guy reason to approach her. Instead, she remained quiet as she walked over to the gas pump and did a refill.

The two men stood there watching her. The same guy approached her. "So, young lady, are you traveling alone?"

"No, im not," she responded.

The man then walked over to the truck looking into the side mirror, "it's a nice truck you have, lady. Is it for sale?"

Angela shook her head, "is there a house around here?"

The men looked at eachother, "there are a few houses around here, lady. You have to be more specific." Angela smiled, "okay, a house with a green fence?"

"There is plenty of house with a green fence, lady; why don't you just google map the address?"

Why did she not think of asking the dead guy the address, it would have been so much easier, and she doesn't have a phone.

The men looked at her hands, "are those bloodstains?" Angela remembered her hands had dried up blood, "is that your blood or someone else?" Asked the guy who tried making conversation with her.

Think fast, she told herself. These men are starting to look at her suspiciously.

"Yeah, it's the blood of a deer, and I moved from the road. Someone had bumped the deer and left the deer out there."

"Yeah, we had an old man last week with a similar truck like yours and had the same story as yours, alot of strange things is happening around here these days."

"An old man, grey hair, short and fat?"

"Yes, mam, do you know Mr. Fred?"

"I do. I was looking for his place; I was here so long back I can't remember the road."

"Yes, he attends the same church as I do. I will write down the directions to his place. You can't get lost, it's a few miles up, and there are large blue fences. You can press the button, and his son will buzz the gate; if you had told me you were looking for Mr. Fred, it would have been so much easier than describing a green gate, the fence was green, and they had it painted, you would never have found that place."

"If you like, you can wash up in the back of the gas station. Those stains on your hand make you look suspicious. Folks around here are weary of a new face."

"I am fine, thank you; I will wash up when u arrive at Mr. Fred's." Angela gave a faint smile.

"Sure, lady."

The two men walked back into the office; Angela had now climbed into the truck and locked the doors, "I should get out of here before I bump into someone else." Angela started the truck, and the two men came running out, waving their hands.

Hesitantly Angela rolled down, "Yes sir can I help you?"

"Mam, we were told there is a storm on the way. It's not safe for you to drive in that direction."

"A storm?" Angela replied mockingly, "have you seen how calm this weather is?"

There was a sudden strong wind blowing, "I see what you mean, but I will be fine, thanks, guys."

"Lady, I would strongly suggest you stay here."

"If you knew what I have been through over the past few days, you would know im a survivor."

The men hurried inside as Angela took off. The climate changed drastically; maybe it was because she was climbing the mountain. "I won't get anywhere with this storm." She thought to herself. Angela saw a caravan park where she pulled off. It was dark. She could no longer see even with the brights on of the truck.

Angela realized now was an excellent time to dumb the body.

She geared up and tied a rope around her waist; as she climbed off the truck and dragged the body out onto the concrete ground since it was dead weight and it was storming, she used all her strength to drag the body, looking back to the truck she realized she had barely moved the body a meter away.

There had to be another way. After all, she had to get across the road. On the other side, she could throw the body down the cliff. Angela looked around and found nothing useful.

She struggled for over an hour when she finally reached the opposite side of the road. She stood still, catching her breath and looking around in the dark to see if anyone saw her.

That's when she noticed a shadow behind a rock or what appeared to seem like a shadow. Angela stood still and reached into her pocket. Her hair was all wet, covering her face; she was soaked from the rain. Angela walked towards the rock with her right hand behind her back, gripping the knife. Her heart was racing. The closer she came to the rock, the faster her heart raced.

She closed her eyes for a moment and opened them, telling herself there was no one and that it was all just an illusion.

She picked up her pace and walked up to the rock, drawing out her right arm and lifting her arm into the air, ready to fight. When she looked behind the rock, it was a plant.

Relieved, she felt at ease. Catching her breath, she looked around, hearing what sounded like footsteps approaching; as she turned around, an older man was standing behind her with a long white beard with bags under his eyes and was pale, wearing a black raincoat. She stood there in shock, not knowing what to say or do. Her eyes grew wide, "shit, he saw the body. He must have been watching me this whole time."

All words that could escape her mouth were, "it's not what it looks like." the old man stood there silently, staring at her. He was calm; there was this calmness about him; he had no emotion in his eyes as he stood there silently, he was well 6 feet and slender the shadow of his raincoat cap covered his eyes.

He stared at her. She was almost just as tall as him. She gripped the knife tightly in her right hand, "I would probably have to kill him." She told herself. But his just an innocent old man in the wrong place. The man stepped closer, as Angela kept the knife out in front of her. "stay where you are; I will hurt you." she said in a passive voice. The man looked at her and shook his head. He then placed his hands behind his back and turned around. " you are not going anywhere she repeated. The older man stood still, turned around, and looked at her. "Why are you not saying anything?" the old man flashed a faint smile and nodded.